This application relates to copending application Ser. No. 995,281 filed herewith for "A Method and System for Automatically Inspecting Ophthalmic Lenses," to copending application Ser. No. 995,654 filed herewith for "A Method of Inspecting Ophthalmic Lenses," to copending application Ser. No. 995,564 filed herewith for "A Lens Inspection System," and to copending application Ser. No. 995,622 filed herewith for "An Apparatus for Carrying Ophthalmic Lenses."
This invention generally relates to systems for inspecting ophthalmic lenses such as contact lenses, and more particularly, to lens inspection systems of this type in which an illuminating beam is directed through the lens to produce an image thereof.
Contact lenses are, typically, made with a high degree of precision and accuracy. Nevertheless, on rare occasions, a particular lens may contain an irregularity; and for this reason, contact lenses are inspected before sale to the consumer to be certain that the lenses are acceptable for consumer use.
In one type of prior art lens inspection system, an illuminating beam is transmitted through a lens and then focused on a screen to produce thereon an image of the lens, and an operator looks at that image to determine if the lens contains any irregularities. If any irregularity or flaw is found that makes the lens unsuitable for consumer use, the lens is either removed from the inspection system or otherwise identified so that it is not subsequently sold to a consumer.
This prior art inspection system is very effective and reliable. Nevertheless, it is believed that the system can be improved upon. For instance, the accuracy of the system depends, in part, on the contrast between the image of the lens produced on the screen and the rest of that screen; and, of course, improving that contrast improves the accuracy of the system. In addition, in lens inspection systems of this type, it is important that the illuminating beam be collimated as it passes through the lens being inspected, and improving the ability of the system to produce and to transmit a highly collimated light beam through the lens being inspected also improves the accuracy of the system.